Venus and Isis in Leo

Venus is conjunct the asteroid Isis at 24 degrees of Leo today (July 6th) with Jupiter close behind at 22 degrees. The energy of this combination has been present since the beginning of the month, lingering throughout, and with this I see a powerful resurgence of divine feminine energy. Venus the planet of love, beauty, and prosperity is a particularly prominent influence now as she entered a pre-shadow phase on June 21st, enters Virgo on July 18th, goes Retrograde on July 24th, reenters Leo on the Full Moon of the 31st, and then stations direct in this sign on September 6th. Her post-shadow phase will end by October 8th as she reenters the sign of Virgo.

The super stellium Jupiter/Venus/Isis started off late June, early July in a grand trine with Uranus in Aries and Ixion in Sagittarius. Venus and Isis are sextile Mercury in Gemini today while the Sun in emotional Cancer is opposite Pluto in stern Capricorn, which has been amplifying power struggles, heightening projections and internalizations of opposing forces. For about a week’s time many people have been going off on tirades while others are simply being more vocal about their beliefs, whether in self-defense or in the act of breaking free from tyranny. There are many profound awakenings occurring, and some of them might seem quite “rude”. However, it is a time when corrective measures can also be more easily taken, both verbally and otherwise.

Isis and Osiris by Susan Seddon Boulet

Venus is typically happy in the sunny sign of Leo, where she is often able to express the full gamut of her love and creativity. When she turns Retrograde later this month and throughout August these qualities may turn inward for many, taking the form of renewed passion for familiar projects, interests, and possibly loves from the past. In a similar way, the asteroid Isis represents areas that we may seek to reconnect, restore, reconcile and reunite lost parts of ourselves and others close to us. In the Egyptian myth, after Osiris was torn to pieces by his brother Set, Isis frantically searched the world for all of his parts and eventually put him back together and brought him to life. Venus and Isis together represent the coming together of feminine forces, as well as the retrieval of “lost” fragments of one’s soul. Traced back to their original sources, Venus and Isis may even be one and the same. In Leo they beckon us, both male and female to tune into the Solar aspect of consciousness, and to assert ourselves with dignity and grace.

The intense focus of female energy embodied in a fiery masculine sign is significant for both men and women. In this instance, with Isis present the feminine counterpart helps support or heal the male in some way. On an internal level, the right and left hemispheres of the brain may either come into greater harmony or discord, while the circadian rhythms seek their balance.

In a symbolic sense, Isis is akin to a female Jesus, although she arrived far before his time. As the mother of the sun god Horus she was one of the first mother figures venerated as an incarnation of divinity. Every aspect of Isis is steeped in mystery and magic. The two syllables of her name fascinate us on so many levels, because she IS an inherent part of us. In the dictionary we read that the word genesis simply means the beginning of something, but it is translated by certain scholars as the “Genes of Isis”. This is said to be where the Book of Genesis took its title.

In my natal chart the asteroids Isis and Osiris are both conjunct my Sun, but I never knew how to interpret this until I gained a deeper understanding of the rich history of them both. In August 2015 these two asteroids will be almost but not quite in conjunction in the sign of Virgo. Jupiter, Venus and asteroid Isis in Leo are currently positioned at the cusp of the 9th house of the US chart, as if the Bible-thumping hasn’t already begun…

Overall, the pairing of Isis and Venus now might be helping us to bring and piece together the things we wish to heal and manifest. This is a great time for solving puzzles or making witch ladders, vision boards, and other magical or artistic renderings of the heart.